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@geiten tutrs utwt @ffiesy EDWIN D. BR A IANA R'D, O F- .-AL-BA NY, 'NE W Y O R K.

Leafs Patent Le. 73,292, damwand@ 14, 186s.

IMPBOVED `REI'RIGEEiltATI-lllGAND CONDENSING-APPARATUS FOR PBBSEBVING ANIMAL 'AND VBGETABLE SUBSTANGES.

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TO ALL WHOM 1T C'ONCERN:

Beit known that I, EDWIND. B RAIN-ARD,-of Albany,'in the county of Albany, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Condensing and Refrigerating- Apparatus for Preserving Animal and Vegetable Substances, andfor other purposes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact4 description thereof,"which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying plate of drawingsfforming part of this specification.

Figure 1 'represents a. vertical section through a building Aor storehouse, provided with my improved condensing-(apparatus, which is cutin cross-section. v

Figure 2 represents the samc'buildingrwith the front side removed to exhibit an end view of my improved condensing-apparatus. i

Figurei's va longitudinal view of a detached part of the condensing-apparatus.

Figure 4 is a transverse section of a part-of the condensing-apparatus, showing a detailof the construction.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. I l

This invention relates to'an improved apparatus for condensing and collecting the moisture of the air in a boxJ room, or chamber of' any kind, and catching and conducting away the water of condensation;

v The apparatus consists of a`set of iron or other sheet-metal troughs or condensers, forming'the ceiling or roof of apex, room, or chamber, and a corresponding set of gutters placed under or at the bottom of the troughs to catch '-the water of condensation dripping from the outer surface of the troughs, and conduct lit away out of the box, room, chamber, or cellar.

By means of thisapparatus, connected with' an ice-chamber, the air contained in a box, room, chamber= or cellar, when made air-tight, is deprived of its moisture by the condensation thereof on the colder surface of the metal troughs, and the temperature of the air is reduced to a low degree. '.lhus, a dry and cold atmosphere may be produced in a box, room, chamber, or cellar,l and maintained at a regular temperature for as long a period as desired. 4

' This improve-d condensing and refrigerating-apparatus has many useful applications, such as refrigerators for domestic use, storehonses for preserving, and rail-cars and vessels for transportingand keeping sound fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, butter, lard, and other perishable animal and vegetable substances.

For breweries and other establishments requiring a cool and even temperature, and for the chambers of ice-houses, this improved condensing-apparatusis also equally applicable and useful. When applied to an icehouse it saves the ice, and for a lager-beer brewery it is'especially valuable on account of the following advantages, to wit: -Y i I `First. By the perfect control andregulation of the temperature of the fermenting-chamber at a low degree of heat, thefermenting process can be ca rriednor successfully without interruption at all seasons of the year, in the coldest aswell as 'in the warmest weather, yand without moving the tubs. A

Second. By perfectly dry and cool air in'the storage-cellars or chambers, mould and rust on the easls and metal will be prevented, and no change will take placeiin the condition of the beer. A low temperaturrand dry air uniformly maintained in the storage-chambers will prevent the generation of carboni'cacid gas, and keep this destructive element in beer-cellars 'under careful subjection.

The following is a full description of my improved condensing and refrigerating-apparatus: *The drawings, figs. 1, 2, represent a building of several stories, the upper one of which is an ice-chamber, No. 1, and the lower stories, Nos. 2, 3, are preserving or storing-chambers, all containing my condensing apparatus, constructed alike, and referred to bythe same letters. The walls are double, of sheet iron, and packed as usual. 1 I

The condensing-troughs a a are made of galvanized iron. They are secured to the timbers IJ I1, running between them longitudinally, to form atght ceiling or roof ofa chamber, and are fastened to each other upon the floor, timbers or rafters, without nails, rivets, ortsolder, as hereinafter described. The condensing-troughs li: a, forming the ceiling or roof of a box, room,1orcli amber, are made cold by ice placed in a chamber imme vdiately above, or by cold rgater conveyed to them by'pipes. Their outer or under surfaces thus become cou-V densers of the moisture 1n the chamber, whicn is attached, and rises from below with the warmer currents of air. The water of condensation, thus collected on the troughs, drips or triekles down their converging' sides, and falls into the guttersc cuider them. The drip-gutters e c are made of wood, preferably, as it is the best material for the purpose, and they conduct the water of condensation to a cross-gutter, d LZ, fig. 2, placed under their lower ends, from which a pipe, e, leads the water to a lower chamber to be utilized in another set of troughs, or carries it away to thc outside to be discharged through a trap of ord-inary construction. The condensing-troughs a have outlets or holes, z' z', in one end, at any desired level, for containing ice-water, through which holes the.ieewatcr flows into the c1'oss-g 1utters` Z d, to be carried by the pipe c into the set of troughs in a lower chamber, when required, or directly to the outside to be discharged. 'lhe arrangement of pipes for conducting the water of condensation from the drip-gutters o c, and the condensing-troughs a @may be varied to suit the circumstances, the only essential point being the provision of a trap at the lower end of the discharge-pipe to prevent external air from passing through the discharge-pipe into the chamber.

Two or more storicsot` a warehouse for preserving vegetable or animal substances may thus be operated on, or, by the same ice-water, with a triding difference of temperature in the chamber, adapted to articles of dilfercnt kinds.

The condensing-troughs, when placed over an ice-chamber, will collect, on their colder metallic surfaces, the vapor Vthat rises from the ice when it melts, and the water of condensation will be carried off-by the dripgutters instead of falling back upon the ice, and thereby wasting it rapidly, as in ordinary ice-chambers when there is no ventilation. The condensing-troughs are placed between the floor-timbers or rafters b b, and secured byeaps L 7L, resting on the timbers. The edges of the sheet-iron troughs and caps arcturned over and united by a closedv double seam, as shown in iig. 4, in cross-section. The troughs and caps, thus closed andv bound together at the edges, form a strong waterand air-tight ceiling or floor without rivets or solder. The ends of the troughs and caps and the outside troughs are soldered to the inside metal lining of the chamber. The icc in the ice-chamber rests upon narrow battens or cross-bars, 7c r, which lie upon the`caps 71. L, so that the weight is sustained by the floor-timbers, and the troughs haveY no strain upon,them, bearing,--` as they do, only the weight of the ice or waste water which they contain. Betweeh the battons k c and the caps L'L, wire grating may be laid to catch any litter or trash among tho ice.

I am aware that metal troughs or basins have been employed in the bottom of ice-boxes of refrigerators for catching the waste water produced by the melting of the ice, but they have been made in this form only to catch and carry od' the \vaste;..ater, while their, under surfaces would condense the moisture of tbc air without any provision of gutters to catch and carry away the water of condensation, which drip-gutters, under-troughs, or basins, forming an air and water-tight ceiling of a box, room, or chamber, as described, constitute the essential principle and the novel and valuable feature of my invention. Alithout the provision of drip-gutters under the ceiling to catch the water of condensation and carry it off, the water will drip down from the ceiling Lito the chamber, and unless it is absorbed by chemical absorbents, thel air in the chamber will remain charged with moisture, which is the cause of disintegration' and decay with lanimal and vegetable substances exposed to it. The water of condensationy being caught and removed by the drip-guttersof my invention, as soon as it is formed on the outer surfaces lof the troughs or basins forming the ceiling of a chamber, the air thercinis-rapidly desiecated and refrigerated, producing -those two conditions of dryness and coolness of atmosphere which are essential for the preservation of animal and vegetable substances.

I am aware that apparatus for condensing the moisture of the atmosphere in refrigerating-chambers and conducting it therefrom, has been previously employed, and I do not claim apparatus for this purpose broadly, but an improved method of construction and arrangement of apparatus, whereby great economy, strength, and durability are combined in the structure, and a more perfect operation of the principle of condensation and conduction of the moisture of the atmosphere in a refrigerating-ehamber are secured.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination of the drip-gutters and the condensing and refrigerating-troughs or condensers, forming the ceiling of a chamber, constructed and arranged substantially as described, and operating as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The method of forming the condensing-troughs, by uniting the sides to a cup with closed double seams, substantially as described.

The above specification of my invention signed by me, this 12th day of November, 1867.

EDWIN D. BRAINARD,

Witnesses:

R. BANcRorT, Gao. YOUNG. 

